But Poulides tells the Merc's Daniel Brown it was a frustrated toss by a frustrated Giants fan upset by a season that gets more frustrating by the game for the defending world champs. According to the story, Poulides discovered on Monday morning that his banana toss had become a big deal and "his heart sank."

"Oh, my god,'' Poulides said. "I threw a banana on my way out."

Poulides, 42, said he grabbed a banana off a catering cart and hurled it toward the field in disgust at the Giants near the end of a 10-2 loss at AT&T Park on Sunday. The banana apparently sailed toward Jones, who tweeted about the incident after the game ...

Above all, Poulides stressed repeatedly that the incident was not a racially motivated, as some had speculated. He was upset at the Giants, not Jones.

"I'm embarrassed and shocked by the outcome,'' the Northern California resident said. "In hindsight, I wish I didn't do it and I apologize. I'm very sorry."

The Giants also issued an apology saying the team had a "a zero tolerance policy against this type of behavior." It had not, at the time, identified the fan in question.

The whole story sounds like something of the Larry David universe: Guy gets upset at favorite baseball team. Guy tosses nearest fruit onto the field as he storms out of the stadium. Guy learns the next day he's been pegged as a racist. Can't you just see an exasperated George Costanza explaining the story of how he became an accidental racist? (We're not talking about you, Brad Paisley)